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The aim of the current study was to suggest a multi-hazard probability assessment in Fars Province, Shiraz City, and its four strategic watersheds. At first, we construct maps depicting the most effective factors on floods (12 factors), forest fires (10 factors), and landslides (10 factors), and used the Boruta algorithm to prioritize the impact of each respective factor on the occurrence of each hazard. Subsequently, flood, landslides, and forest fire susceptibility maps prepared using a Random Forest (RF) model in the R statistical software. Results indicate that 42.83% of the study area are not susceptible to any hazards, while 2.67% of the area is at risk of all three hazards. The results of the multi-hazard map in Shiraz City indicate that 25% of Shiraz city is very susceptible to flooding, while 16% is very susceptible to landslide occurrences. For four strategic watersheds, it is notable that in the Dorodzan Watershed, landslides and floods are the most important hazards; whereas, flood occurrences cover the largest area of the Maharlou Watershed. In contrast, the Tashk-Bakhtegan Watershed is so sensible to floods and landslides, respectively. Finally, in the Ghareaghaj Watershed, forest fire ranks as the strongest hazard, followed by floods. The validation results indicate an AUC of 0.834, 0.939, and 0.943 for the flood, landslide, and forest fire susceptibility maps, respectively. Also, other accuracy measures including, specificity, sensitivity, TSS, CCI, and Gini coefficient confirmed results of the AUC values. These results allow us to forecast the spatial behavior of such multi-hazard events, and researchers and stakeholders alike can apply them to evaluate hazards under various mitigation scenarios.

The present study investigated the effect of salt stress on the development of adaptive responses and growth parameters of different coloured wheat genotypes. The different coloured wheat genotypes have revealed variation in the anthocyanin content, which may affect the development of adaptive responses under increasing salinity stress. In the early stage of treatment with salt at a lower NaCl concentration (100 mM), anthocyanins and proline accumulate, which shows rapid development of the stress reaction. A dose-dependent increase in flavonol content was observed for wheat genotypes with more intense purple-blue pigmentation after treatment with 150 mM and 200 mM NaCl. The content of Na+ and K+ obtained at different levels of salinity based on dry weight (DW) was more than 3 times greater than the control, with a significant increase of both ions under salt stress. Overall, our results demonstrated that coloured wheat genotypes with high anthocyanin content are able to maintain significantly higher dry matter production after salt stress treatment.

ContextArgentina is the third-largest user of pesticides per year, with more than 65% of the herbicide being glyphosate. Glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) have similar properties in terms of environmental behavior and toxicity. Scientific evidence of the presence of glyphosate and AMPA in the environment has revealed the vulnerability of the current production system. No-till is used in 90% of agricultural land in Argentina and is deeply associated with the use of glyphosate for weed control on genetically modified organisms.ObjectiveThe purpose of our research is to determine the vertical distribution of some soil properties, glyphosate and AMPA content, crop yield response to tillage, and glyphosate use efficiency (GUE) for two contrasting tillage systems: no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) in Argentina.MethodsIn winter/spring 2015, three undisturbed soil sub-samples were collected from the top 20 cm of depth in 6 field experiments with a minimum duration of 15 years and mollic epipedon. Analytical determination of glyphosate and AMPA were determined through ultra-high performance chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer (UHPLCMS/MS). In each field experiment, crop yield from the 2011/2012 season to the 2015/2016 season, and the kg of glyphosate active ingredient (a.i) used per ha−1 were recorded. Both data were used for estimating GUE, expressed in Mg grain kg−1 a.i. Differences in soil properties, glyphosate, and AMPA concentration were compared using a PROC MIXED model.Results and conclusionsSoil properties and glyphosate-AMPA concentration showed a stratification from 0 to 20 cm depth, but only organic matter (OM) and AMPA differed by tillage in some field experiments at 0–2 and 2–5 cm depth. Sixty percent of crop yields and 69.4% of GUE did not present statistically significant differences between tillage systems. In the present study, the GUE has a general mean of 1.2 Mg grain per kg of a.i ha−1 year−1. We report here the translocation of minerals within the A horizon of soils with molic epipedon. On the other hand, our results indicate that the molic epipedon can accumulate AMPA. Our results show that glyphosate accumulates in the soil due to its recurrent application and regardless of the soil management carried out.SignificanceThe GUE concept is novel and may result in an easy-to-understand tool for farmers to reduce herbicide abuse. Agriculture is not sustainable if the current use of pesticides is maintained, despite having soils of high natural fertility, high organic carbon content, and a favorable climate for grain production.

Soil erosion has been considered a threat for semi-arid lands due to the removal of solid materials by water and wind. Although water erosion is currently considered the most important process of soil degradation, a growing interest has been drawn to the impact of soil tillage. Although numerous studies on tillage erosion have been carried out on arable land using a moldboard plow, a chisel, and a tandem disc for different crops, there are no studies on the effect of shallow tillage on soil redistribution in vineyards. The aim of this work was to evaluate the soil tillage erosion rate in a vineyard using a 13C natural abundance tracer. A strip of soil (C3-C soil) was removed, mixed with C4-C tracer, and replaced. After the installation of the strip, tillage (upslope in one inter-row and downslope in the other inter-row) was performed with a cultivator and soil was collected along the slope with an interval of 0.2 m from the C4-C strip. Soil organic carbon and δ13C were measured and the total mass of translocated soil (T) soil was calculated. The net effect of tillage after two consecutive operations (downslope and upslope tillage) was a T of 49.3 ± 4.2 kg m−1. The estimated annual erosion rate due to tillage in the studied vineyard was 9.5 ± 1.2 Mg ha−1year−1. The contribution of the soil tillage erosion rate was compared with that of water erosion in the same vineyard, and we conclude that tillage is a threat to soil degradation.

Soil infiltration processes manage runoff generation, which in turn affects soil erosion. There is limited information on infiltration rates. In this study, the impact of vine age on soil bulk density (BD) and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was assessed on a loam soil tilled by chisel plough. Soil sampling was conducted in the inter row area of six vineyards, which differed by the age from planting: 0 (Age 0; just planted), 1, 3, 6, 13, and 25 years (Age 1, Age 3, Age 6, Age 13, and Age 25, respectively). The One Ponding Depth (OPD) approach was applied to ring infiltration data to estimate soil Ks with an α* parameter equal to 0.012 mm−1. Soil bulk density for Age 0 was about 1.5 times greater than for Age 25, i.e., the long-term managed vineyards. Saturated hydraulic conductivity at Age 0 was 86% less than at Age 25. The planting works were considered a major factor for soil compaction and the reduction of hydraulic conductivity. Compared to the long-term managed vineyards, soil compaction was a very short-term effect given that BD was restored in one year due to ploughing. Reestablishment of Ks to the long-term value required more time.

Land use has significant effects on the erosion process, since it influences the soil detachment capacity by causing an overland flow (Dc). The effects of different land uses on the rill detachment capacity have not been explained in depth, and the hydraulic parameters providing accurate estimates of this soil property have not been completely identified. This study quantifies Dc at low flow rates in woodland and forestland, compared to two other land uses (cropland and grassland), in the Saravan watershed (Northern Iran), and develops prediction models of Dc and rill erodibility (Kr). Dc was measured on undisturbed soil samples, collected in the four land uses, and characterized in terms of the main physico-chemical properties in a flume experiment, simulating five slopes and five shallow water flows. The results showed that Dc was significantly lower in woodland and forestland compared to cropland and grassland, as the consequence of the changes in the main soil properties and the more developed vegetation cover and structure. Dc was positively correlated to clay and silt contents of soils, and negatively correlated to sand content, aggregate stability, root density, and organic matter. The stream power and unit stream power were found to be very accurate predictors of Dc in woodland and forestland, respectively. Kr values, which assumed the lowest values in woodland and forestland, were provided by interpolating Dc and the shear stress of water flow. Overall, this study has confirmed that vegetation cover and improved soil properties in forestland and woodland may help to reduce erosion in delicate environment ecosystems, such as the forests of Northern Iran.

Climate change, soil degradation, and depletion of natural resources are becoming the most prominent challenges for crop productivity and environmental sustainability in modern agriculture. In the scenario of conventional farming system, limited chances are available to cope with these issues. Relay cropping is a method of multiple cropping where one crop is seeded into standing second crop well before harvesting of second crop. Relay cropping may solve a number of conflicts such as inefficient use of available resources, controversies in sowing time, fertilizer application, and soil degradation. Relay cropping is a complex suite of different resource-efficient technologies, which possesses the capability to improve soil quality, to increase net return, to increase land equivalent ratio, and to control the weeds and pest infestation. The current review emphasized relay cropping as a tool for crop diversification and environmental sustainability with special focus on soil. Briefly, benefits, constraints, and opportunities of relay cropping keeping the goals of higher crop productivity and sustainability have also been discussed in this review. The research and knowledge gap in relay cropping was also highlighted in order to guide the further studies in future.

Small portable rainfall simulators are considered a useful tool to analyze soil erosion processes in cultivated lands. European research groups in Spain (Valencia, Málaga, Lleida, Madrid and La Rioja), France (Reims) and Germany (Trier) have used different rainfall simulators (varying in drop size distribution and fall velocities, kinetic energy, plot forms and sizes, and field of application) to study soil loss, surface flow, runoff and infiltration coefficients in different experimental plots (Valencia, Montes de Málaga, Penedès, Campo Real and La Rioja in Spain, Champagne in France and Mosel-Ruwer valley in Germany). The measurements and experiments developed by these research teams give an overview of the variety of methodologies used in rainfall simulations to study the problem of soil erosion and describe the erosion features in different climatic environments, management practices and soil types. The aims of this study are: (i) to investigate where, how and why researchers from different wine-growing regions applied rainfall simulations with successful results as a tool to measure soil erosion processes; (ii) to make a qualitative comparison about the general soil erosion processes in European terroirs; (iii) to demonstrate the importance of the development of standard method for measurement of soil erosion processes in vineyards, using rainfall simulators; and (iv) and to analyze the key factors that should be taken into account to carry out rainfall simulations. The rainfall simulations in all cases allowed infiltration capacity, susceptibility of the soil to detachment and generation of sediment loads to runoff to be determined. Despite using small plots, the experiments were useful to analyze the influence of soil cover to reduce soil erosion, to make comparisons between different locations, and to evaluate the influence of different soil characteristics. The comparative analysis of the studies performed in different study areas points out the need to define an operational methodology to carry out rainfall simulations, which allows us to obtain representative and comparable results and to avoid errors in the interpretation in order to achieve comparable information about runoff and soil loss

There is a worldwide risk of fire spread due to the mismanagement of stubble in agricultural land. In 2019, 3.6% of the forest area was damaged by fires in Turkey due to stubble burning. The burning of agriculture residues negatively affects soil properties, air quality and water resources. This finally threatens humankind sustainability. However, there is a lack of information analyzing this problem from the current policies in Turkey. Therefore, this paper reviews the legislation currently applied to understand the specific competencies to achieve sustainable fire and forest management. A holistic analysis of the legal regulations and practices to prevent stubble burning in Turkey shown here the farmer's perception of the use of fire as an agriculture tool and the relevance of stubble burning to explain the location and recurrence of wildfires. Then, we discussed the relevance to shed light on how effective are the laws to avoid stubble burning and its impact on the environment. We claim for an update of the legislation to allow the farmers to manage the stubble and encourage the policymakers to develop new strategies to compost the stubble and achieve sustainable management within the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations that will contribute to achieving the Land Degradation Neutrality Challenge.